In Marvelous Work and A Wonder, Le Grand Richards Page 18 under the heading John’s Testimony of the Personality of God Says “This accords also with the report of John’s baptism of Jesus: 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Here each of the three members of the Godhead are distinctly and separately mentioned; (1) Jesus coming up out of the water; (2) the Holy Ghost descending like a dove; (3) the voice of the Father from heaven expressing his love and approval of his beloved Son. How could one possibly believe these three to be one person without body or form?
President Gordon B. Hinckley explained why he also could not believe in the Trinity: The world wrestles with the question of who God is, and in what form He is found. Some say that the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are one. I wonder how they ever arrive at that. How could Jesus have prayed to Himself when he uttered the Lord’s Prayer? How could He have net with Himself when He was on the Mount of Transfiguration? No. He is a separate being. God, our Father, is one. Jesus Christ is two. The Holy Ghost is three. And these three are united in purpose and in working together to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.’ ONE GOD The above comments are clearly antithetical
James Talmage states: “This [the Trinity] cannot rationally be construed to mean that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are one in substance and person” (A Study of the Articles of Faith, p.40)
1. Hugh B. Brown, The Abundant Life, p.313 Surely this was not ventriloquism where Christ was speaking to and of himself. It was the Father introducing His Son. In this case, the members of the Holy Trinity manifested themselves, each in a different way, and each was distinct from the others. A similar event occurred on the Mount of Transfiguration when members of the Godhead were distinguished in the presence of Moses and Elias, and Peter, James, and John.
What’s interesting about all these statements is that Le Grand Richards, Gordon B. Hinckley, James Talmage, Hugh B. Brown and other leaders like Robert Hales and Jeffrey R Holland lie about is the Orthodox view of the Godhead and pin modalism to Orthodox Christianity and our belief of the Trinity.
Notice how we believe the teaching they try to say we believe is considered a heresy and is called modalism and monarchism Trinity 1X1X1=1 Mormonism 1+1+1=3
- Modalism - God is one person in three modes.
- Monarchianism - God is one person.
Homoousios -God- Godhead- Substance- Essence- Being –Nature
[ all Synonyms ]
The Church I go to statement of faith
God is three separate and distinct persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit ) Man is three separate and distinct parts ( body, soul and Spirit) This is the image which makes us like God 1X1X1= 1
Genesis 1:
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
1 Thessalonians 5:
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4: 12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Doctrine and Covenants
Section 33
1 Behold, I say unto you, my servants Ezra and Northrop, open ye your ears and hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, whose word is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow, soul and spirit; and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
-
"I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods," (Teachings of Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 370) = polytheism
The Godhead consists of the three distinct personages and three gods.. The Father Son and Holy Spirit. The Father and Son have bodies of flesh and bones, while the Holy Spirit is a personage of spirit. Robert Millet A Different Jesus page 198
The trinity is three separate Gods: The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost. "That these three are separate individuals, physically
distinct from each other, is demonstrated by the accepted records of divine
dealings with man," (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 35).
Doctrine and Covenants section 132:
37 Abraham received
concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for
righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as
Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded;
and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded,
they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit
upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.
Doctrine and Covenants section 121:32
According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest.Doctrine and Covenants section 121:32
- Notice the polytheism of Mormon faux canon
Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel;
- The Lord our God is one Lord: " Monotheism
Jesus says ONE GOD in the Godhead, Joseph Smith says three . Who does Mormons believe and follow ? This is the major difference between Orthodox Christianity and Mormonism
- The Book of Mormon teaches one God
1 Nephi 13: 41 And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.
Notice from reputable dictionaries and encyclopedias say we believe Three separate and distinct persons represent the ONE GOD [God- Godhead- Substance- Essence- Being [ all Synonyms ]
The doctrine of the Trinity in the godhead includes the three following particulars, viz. (a) There is only one God, one divine nature; (b) but in this divine nature there is the distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as three (subjects or persons); and (c) these three-have equally, and in common with one another, the nature and perfection of supreme divinity. It was the custom in former times for theologians to blend their own speculations and those of others with the statement of the Bible doctrine. It is customary now to exhibit first the simple doctrine of the Bible, and afterwards, in a separate part, the speculations of the learned respecting it. (from McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
TRINITY The coexistence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the unity of the Godhead (divine nature or essence). The doctrine of the trinity means that within the being and activity of the one God there are three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Although the word trinity does not appear in the Bible, the “trinitarian formula” is mentioned in the Great Commission (Matt 28:19) and in the benediction of the apostle Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians (2 Cor 13:14). (from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Trinity used to express the doctrine of the unity of God as subsisting in three distinct Persons. This word is derived from the Gr. trias , first used by Theophilus (A.D. 168 A.D. - 183 A.D.), or from the Lat. trinitas, first used by Tertullian (A.D. 220 A.D.), to express this doctrine. The propositions involved in the doctrine are these: 1. That God is one, and that there is but one God (Deut 6:4; 1 Kings 8:60; Isa 44:6; Mark 12:29,32; John 10:30). 2.
That the Father is a distinct divine Person (hypostasis, subsistentia, persona, suppositum intellectuale), distinct from the Son and the Holy Spirit. 3. That Jesus Christ was truly God, and yet was a Person distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit. 4. That the Holy Spirit is also a distinct divine Person. (from Easton’s Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
We believe God is Trinity, which means that He is one God
who has eternally existed in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit. Each one is fully God. God is completely unified in His
diversity. All persons of the Trinity are equal in essence, nature, and
substance, but they are different in persons. All things are from the Father,
through the Son, and by the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Godhead shares all
the attributes of God, including eternality, freedom, holiness, righteousness,
immutability, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, happiness, wisdom,
sovereignty, perfection, goodness, and justice, grace, and mercy. God is holy,
which means that he is transcendent over creation. He is the source of life.
Nothing exists apart from His sustaining power. Matthew 28:18–19; Mark 12:29;
John 1:14; Acts 5:3–4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1–3; Revelation 1:4–6.
Recent examples of a Mormon leader spreading this straw man
Very Well Done!! Thank you for posting this!! The quotes by Hinckley and Talmadge are helpful as well, as the clear explanation of the Trinity Doctrine. Hope to use this with my mormon friend!
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